Organizers cancel Arabian horse show

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This article was published 11/07/2022 (1324 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Arabian Horse Association informed its members on Thursday that the upcoming 2022 Canadian Nationals Arabian and half-Arabian Championship Horse Show, which was scheduled to take place at the Keystone Centre Aug. 14-20, is being cancelled due to “lower than projected levels of participation.”

“The Board of Directors and the Canadian National Show Commission are truly disappointed that we are not able to move forward with the 2022 show,” an AHA representative wrote in an official statement. “We are all in agreement to work together to have the 2023 show.”

The AHA made this decision during a meeting that took place last Wednesday, in which the board of directors received an extensive presentation from its budget and finance committee with regards to the show’s financial viability.

Since the event was struggling to attract participants, which the AHA blames on high fuel prices and “continuing vaccination requirements,” the board eventually concluded that this low participation rate would devalue the competition in many categories and put undue “financial strain” on the organization.

The AHA ended Thursday’s statement by stating that it in the process of contacting all the people who had committed to the event to ensure their questions are answered.

As of Sunday afternoon, news of this cancellation had generated more than 120 comments on the AHA’s official Facebook page, with many users expressing their disappointment and anger over the organizers’ decision to cancel the event so close to showtime.

After all, Thursday’s announcement came just a couple of weeks after the organization reminded riders that the entry fee submission deadline had been extended to June 23.

“I am honestly disgusted with how AHA has handled this,” wrote Mari Ertz, whose Facebook profile states she is a riding instructor and assistant barn manager at Minnesota’s Golden Ridge Stables.

“We have several heartbroken kids who have been working their behinds off all year to be able to show at Canada. We planned our entire show season around Canada because we were told it would go no matter what. So disappointed. Shame on you AHA.”

Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., resident Leslie Mohr was of a similarly disgruntled mindset, stating that she and many other riders planned out their summer based on the AHA’s strong assurances that this now-cancelled event would take place.

“Had I known I would have gone to region 4 and 5 instead,” Mohr wrote. “So not only is our show season a giant waste and shot but you robbed other shows of entries, and trainers of income, as now many are done for the year up here.”

The Canadian Nationals Arabian and half-Arabian Championship Horse Show offers a full range of competition, with more than 190 classes in youth, western, dressage, hunter and English disciplines. In the past, this week-long event has attracted riders from across Canada and the United States, with 800 horses being registered to compete in the 2019 show.

Brandon’s Keystone Centre has hosted this event since 2011, after it took place in Regina, Sask., for more than two decades previously.

Keystone Centre staff and AHA members even signed a new contact in 2017 to secure the Brandon facility as the official host site until 2022. However, the event has been on hiatus for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with this year’s show originally being marketed as a return to form.

The AHA itself was established in 2003 to bring Arabian horse enthusiasts together to preserve and advance one of the oldest domesticated light horse breeds in the world.

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